The present invention pertains to a tire monitoring system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a tire monitoring system which monitors tire engineering conditions, including pressure and temperature, using a monitoring device which is generally installed on the interior portion of a pneumatic tire or tire rim and in electronic communication with a receiver.
The need to maintain tires at the correct pressure level to eliminate driving on under-inflated tires is fundamental in preventing undue tread wear, increased fuel consumption and flat tire accidents. If the average passenger car tire pressure decreases from 32 p.s.i. to 25 p.s.i., the life of the tire is reduced by 20% due to uneven tread wear and fuel consumption increases by up to 10%. A vehicle's handling and braking are also adversely affected by tires having low air pressure. The U.S. National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration has reported that almost half of the tires on the road are under-inflated and may account for as many as 250,000 annual accidents. It has also been estimated that over five million gallons of gasoline are wasted each year due to tire under-inflation.
Tires known as "run-flat" tires have recently been developed which have reinforced side walls so that the tire can be driven on for a certain number of miles with little or no physical manifestation even though the tire is completely deflated. Without a tire monitoring system, the driver will not be aware that he or she has a flat tire and may destroy the tire before having it repaired or replaced.
An operational and practical design for remote tire pressure and/or temperature measuring devices has been attempted for many years. Unfortunately, none of these devices has achieved acceptance for many reasons including the unreliability and fragility of the components. Not until the invention of miniature solid state sensors and microprocessors has any degree of success been achieved. However, these systems can also be unreliable and very expensive.
Many modern tire monitoring systems consist of pressure and temperature transducers as well as a transmitter. Power is supplied by utilizing a battery, inductive coils or piezo-electric power. Although there are a myriad of combinations of these components, considerable effort is required to design a system that is reliable, easily used by non-technical personnel, and cost effective.
Accordingly, what is needed is a tire pressure monitoring system utilizing modern electronics which are internally mounted within a tire. What is further needed is a tire pressure monitoring system which is reliable, cost-effective and easily used by non-technical personnel. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.